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      The Friendship Behind ‘Annie Hall’ and ‘Manhattan’

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      In a Q&A, Woody Allen describes the years spent collaborating with his friend Marshall Brickman on beloved movies. Mr. Brickman died on Friday.In the mid-1970s, the writer and director Woody Allen was known for farcical movies about subjects like the search for the world’s best egg salad, but by then he felt he was done “just clowning around,” as he later told the film critic Stig Björkman.As he headed in a new artistic direction, he took a friend along for the ride: a folk musician-turned-humorist named Marshall Brickman.Together they worked on “Annie Hall” (1977), a comic but wistful remembrance of a failed relationship, and “Manhattan” (1979), which focused on characters struggling to find themselves in work and romance. The films came to be widely considered the two essential Woody Allen movies.Reviewers noticed that Mr. Allen had worked out a new style. In his review of “Manhattan,” the New York Times film critic Vincent Canby wrote, “Mr. Allen’s progress as one of our major filmmakers is proceeding so rapidly that we who watch him have to pause occasionally to catch our breath.”He didn’t achieve that progress by himself. After Mr. Brickman died on Friday, Mr. Allen spoke with The New York Times about their collaboration — a rare moment in his life, he said, when writing was not lonesome but rather comradely, pleasurable. A Q&A, lightly edited and condensed for clarity, is below.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Stream These Movies and Shows Before They Leave Netflix in December

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      A bunch of movies and TV shows are leaving for U.S. subscribers by the end of December. Here’s a roundup of the best.Two excellent independent dramas leave Netflix in the United States early this month, so get on them while you can; other present-wrapping background possibilities include a Liam Neeson action flick, two animated comedies and an easy-breezy comedy-drama about the rich and the doctor who serves them. (Dates indicate the final day a title is available.)‘White Girl’ (Dec. 2)Stream it here.Morgan Saylor, best known at the time this movie was released, in 2016, for her work as an all-American teen daughter on “Homeland,” raised some eyebrows when this sexually frank and pharmaceutically candid indie drama debuted. She stars here as Leah, a New York City college student whose adventures in casual sex and recreational drugs take up much of the picture’s running time. But this is no lazy exercise in shock value; the writer-director Elizabeth Wood based her script on her own rocky youth and treats her protagonist with an expected, but still refreshing, nonjudgmental sympathy. It’s a vivid and occasionally troubling movie, but it never feels forced or inauthentic.‘The Commuter’ (Dec. 3)Stream it here.This 2018 action drama was an early entry in a seemingly endless line of late-period action vehicles for Liam Neeson, the Oscar-nominated star of “Schindler’s List.” Here, he plays Michael MacCauley, an ex-cop who just lost his job as a life insurance salesman; on the commuter train home, he is drawn into a complicated scheme involving contract killers, dirty federal agents and the would-be witness they’re supposed to protect. Jaume Collet-Serra directed several of Neeson’s action pictures before this one, and he had already figured out how to play to his strengths, even if this one is essentially a relocated remake of their earlier film “nonstop.” And Collet-Serra handles the big set pieces with flair, particularly a long fight scene between Neeson and a hit man, in which the two men demolish each other and their train car using their fists, glass and, at one point, an electric guitar.‘Trolls’ (Dec. 7)Stream it here.Some family movies — like, say, “Wild Robot,” or “Inside Out” — truly offer fun for the whole family. So let’s clear this up right away: “Trolls” is not one of those movies. It’s an aggressively over-the-top experience, big and broad and loud and frequently obnoxious. But kids absolutely love it (take it from a father of two), and it’s not hard to see why: The songs are catchy, the performers — especially the leads, Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake — are having a good time, and the never-give-up messaging is valuable (particularly in Kendrick’s charming solo number “Get Back Up Again”).We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Best Movies and Shows Streaming in December: ‘Skeleton Crew,’ ‘Dexter: Original Sin’ and More

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      “Pop Culture Jeopardy!,” “Laid,” “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew,” “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” and “Sugarcane” are arriving.Every month, streaming services add movies and TV shows to their libraries. Here are our picks for some of December’s most promising new titles. (Note: Streaming services occasionally change schedules without giving notice. For more recommendations on what to stream, sign up for our Watching newsletter here.)New to Amazon Prime Video‘Pop Culture Jeopardy!’ Season 1Starts streaming: Dec. 4The “Saturday Night Live” stalwart Colin Jost hosts this “Jeopardy!” spinoff, which follows the basic format of the original quiz show, with a few twists. Rather than three individual contestants, each game features three, three-person teams, competing. The teams tackle clues that largely avoid history, geography and high art, instead dealing with memes, movies, TV, sports and modern pop songs. In addition to the Daily Doubles, each round includes a Triple Play with three answers — one for each team member. Also, the season is one big tournament, giving viewers a chance to root for their favorites as they advance toward the finals.‘The Sticky’Starts streaming: Dec. 6Based very loosely on a notorious Canadian maple syrup heist, this crime comedy mini-series stars Margo Martindale as Ruth, a farmer’s wife, who takes over the syrup-tapping business when her husband is hospitalized, and runs afoul of the powerful trade organization that runs the industry. To save her land and get revenge, Ruth teams up with a not-quite-reformed mobster (Chris Diamantopoulos) and a warehouse security guard (Guillaume Cyr) to steal barrels from the national syrup reserve. Created by Brian Donovan and Ed Herro, “The Sticky” finds the dark humor in this crazy scheme; but it’s also a low-key portrait of a rural Canada populated by eccentrics and petty bureaucrats.‘Secret Level’ Season 1Starts streaming: Dec. 10Each episode of this animation anthology was inspired by a different video game, taking inspiration from concepts and characters in titles like “Pac-Man,” “Armored Core,” “Spelunky,” “Warhammer 40,000” and more. Created by Tim Miller — who has some experience with this kind of thing, having previously created the Netflix anthology “Love, Death & Robots” — “Secret Level” features an all-star voice cast, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Keanu Reeves, Temuera Morrison, Kevin Hart and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. While each installment is different in approach, the series’ supervising director, Dave Wilson, gives them all a similar C.G.I. sheen, aiming more for a look more photorealistic than cartoony.Also arriving:Dec. 3“Jack in Time for Christmas”Dec. 5“Glitter and Greed: The Lisa Frank Story”“The Red Virgin”Dec. 23“Chiefsaholic: A Wolf in Chief’s Clothing”Francesca Scorsese in Tyler Thomas Taormina’s “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point.” IFC FilmsWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Test Yourself on These Young Adult Novels Adapted Into Films

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      Welcome to Great Adaptations, the Book Review’s regular multiple-choice quiz about books that have gone on to find new life as movies, television shows, theatrical productions, video games and more. This week’s challenge is focused on tween and teen novels that made the leap from the page to the screen — and some of them more than once.Just tap or click your answers to the five questions below. And scroll down after you finish the last question for links to the books and their movie versions.3 of 5This 1972 middle-grade novel by Mary Rodgers has been adapted for the screen in 1976, 1995, 2003 and 2018, and its various productions over the years have starred Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Heidi Blickenstaff and Jodie Foster, among others. What is the title of the book? More

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      in Television

      Christmas Specials, Plus 4 Things to Watch on TV This Week

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      Get in the holiday spirit with Sabrina Carpenter, Jimmy Fallon or a Christmas tree lighting. Catch up on reality television and heists.Between streaming and cable, there is a seemingly endless variety of things to watch. Here is a selection of TV shows and specials that are available live or streaming this week, Dec. 2 to Dec. 8. Details and times are subject to change.Cozy Up With Holiday SpecialsThough you may still be snacking on Thanksgiving leftovers as we enter December, it’s officially time to get into the holiday spirit. And it shouldn’t be too hard, TV-wise at least.For the 15th year in a row, Christmas heads to Nashville with a celebration of all things holiday and all things country on “CMA Country Christmas,” hosted by Amy Grant and Trisha Yearwood. Performers including Jon Pardi, CeCe Winans and For King + Country will sing festive favorites like “Joy to the World.” Yee-haw and happy holidays! Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ABC.The 2023 Christmas tree lighting at Rockefeller Center.Seth Wenig/Associated PressA quintessential Rockefeller Center Christmas tree — a Norway spruce — has made the yearly voyage to the big city, from its home in West Stockbridge, Mass., about 130 miles from Midtown Manhattan. Since its arrival, it has been adorned with 50,000 LED lights and a 900-pound Swarovski crystal star, and now is finally ready for its close-up. The 92nd Annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center lighting ceremony will be hosted by Kelly Clarkson, with the Radio City Rockettes, the Backstreet Boys and Jennifer Hudson scheduled to perform. Wednesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.Immediately after the tree lighting, “Jimmy Fallon’s Holiday Seasoning Spectacular” is set to celebrate Fallon’s new star-studded album, “Holiday Seasoning,” which dropped on Nov. 1 and features songs with the Jonas Brothers, Justin Timberlake and Dolly Parton. Expect them and others to celebrate with Fallon. Wednesday at 10 p.m. on NBC.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      The ‘Wicked’ Practice of Taking Pictures of the Movie Screen

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      Why are so many people snapping photos and taking videos at the movies? Will this trend ever go away?During an opening weekend screening of the movie musical “Wicked,” a woman sitting in front of me reached for her phone during “The Wizard and I,” Cynthia Erivo’s first big number as the misunderstood green sorceress Elphaba. I watched while this person snapped several photos of Erivo as she belted.This behavior both bewildered me and, naturally, distracted me from the film. I became more focused on what exactly was being photographed — and why — than on Erivo’s performance. And yet this disruption is apparently not unusual if you have seen “Wicked” in a theater. Social media has been flooded with images that people have taken during the movie. One post actually prompted others to share their photos as if taking them was a badge of honor. (Even one of the movie’s stars, Ariana Grande, posted an Instagram Reel of her grandmother watching her sing “Popular.” That one we can let slide.)It’s not just “Wicked.” Taking photos and videos of the screen at movies has somehow become a common practice these days. For instance, major spoilers from “Deadpool & Wolverine” were plastered all over X and TikTok shortly after it hit theaters thanks to poor-quality shots from audience members. Blockbusters aren’t the only films getting this treatment: Look hard enough and you’ll find bootleg clips of just about any theatrical release, from the French body horror film “The Substance” to the pope drama “Conclave.”Demi Moore in “The Substance,” another movie at which audiences have been using their phones to snap photos of scenes in the theater.MubiThe problem with cellphones in theaters used to be mostly errant ringing or excessive texting. Now it’s people holding up their devices so they can get bits of the film and post to their accounts. For those of us who just want to watch in peace, letting ourselves be completely absorbed, it’s another way in which moviegoing etiquette has crumbled in the 21st century.But let’s back up: Why is this happening in the first place? While I don’t think I can ever fully understand the desire to participate in the trend, I have a good guess as to why it exists.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Bringing the Magic of ‘Fanny and Alexander’ to the Opera Stage

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      A new opera by Mikael Karlsson and Royce Vavrek, directed by Ivo van Hove, aims to capture the lavishness of Ingmar Bergman’s film, in half the time.Ingmar Bergman’s film “Fanny and Alexander” luxuriates in space. In its longest version, a television mini-series that spanned more than five hours, the camera lingers on interiors that in their accumulating details say as much as the characters, who themselves say quite a lot.Bergman made another edit of the film, of a little more than three hours, for theatrical release. But the longer “Fanny and Alexander” spends 90 minutes alone on a single Christmas Eve and morning in the lives of the loving but complicated Ekdahl family in early 20th-century Uppsala, Sweden.Opera, too, is a slow-moving art form that luxuriates, but in different ways. Composers and singers relish sound, not sight. And so, in a new opera based on “Fanny and Alexander,” opening at La Monnaie in Brussels on Dec. 1, that Christmas scene takes half as long as it does in the TV cut. It’s one of several changes that were made for this adaptation, composed by Mikael Karlsson to a libretto by Royce Vavrek, and with a starry team that includes the director Ivo van Hove and the singers Sasha Cooke, Thomas Hampson and Anne Sofie von Otter. (The production will be streamed on multiple platforms on Dec. 13.)The director Ivo van Hove and the singer Anne Sofie von Otter, rehearsing the new opera. Ingmar Bergman, van Hove said, is “a realist about human emotions, but he is also poetic.”Simon Van RompayMost obviously, the opera has a running time of two and a half hours, less than half that of the longer cut of the film. Still, the stage version will be recognizably “Fanny and Alexander,” Bergman’s partially autobiographical coming-of-age tale, in which fantasy lives freely alongside reality as a vast tableau of human experience is seen through the eyes of a child. Bergman, who had planned for it to be his last film, said around its release, in 1982, that it represented “the sum total of my life as a filmmaker.”The film plays on television every Christmas in Sweden, and Karlsson, who is Swedish, said he felt the most pressure to get that holiday scene right. When he, Vavrek and van Hove met early in the opera’s development, van Hove suggested hurrying through Christmas to get to the wedding: the marriage of Alexander’s recently widowed mother to the local bishop, the precipitating event of the story’s darkest dramas.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Angelina Jolie Plays Opera Diva Maria Callas. We Went With Her to the Met.

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      The Metropolitan Opera House was awash in pearls and tuxedos on a recent gala evening. Socialites traded political gossip by the bar, and bankers discussed coming vacations in the Maldives.Then a golden elevator door slid open and a glamorous figure slipped out.Heads turned, cellphones clumsily emerged and people began to talk. Is that really her? What is she doing here? She seems taller in person. Look at those tattoos!I had invited Angelina Jolie to the Met to see a performance of Puccini’s “Tosca” ahead of the release of “Maria,” a new film starring Jolie as opera’s defining diva, Maria Callas.Jolie and Larraín at the Met. “There’s an authenticity here that is beautiful,” Jolie said. “There’s a poetry to it all.”Jolie is one of the most recognizable people on the planet, commanding attention wherever she goes. But her night at the opera got off to a bumpy start. She had a problem with her dress, a black, floor-length Yves Saint Laurent with a velvet cape. (The seamstresses in the Met’s costume shop were summoned, but Jolie soldiered on without help.) And when I met her in the foyer, she seemed to be having last-minute doubts about me shadowing her, saying it might spoil the experience.“I just want to enjoy the evening,” she told me. “I want to take it all in.” More